President Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah has welcomed the partnership between pay-TV broadcaster MultiChoice and French television channel Canal+.

During a courtesy call at State House, the Namibian leader noted that such collaborations align with the government's objective of forging "partnerships with purpose".
Through the merger, MultiChoice and Canal+ have committed to increasing the production of programmes that tell authentic African stories across more than 50 African countries.

President Nandi-Ndaitwah says African narratives told from local perspectives would empower the continent's citizens and strengthen the creative industries - one of the seven critical priorities under her administration.

"Because that is the only way it can reflect the reality and strengthen the Africans in all aspects of economic and social development. I really congratulate all of you. We are ready to share and to contribute to the bringing out of African narratives the way we see them and how the world sees us. I find the creative industry a really strategic industry, and it can contribute really significantly to any nation's narrative if you develop that industry."

Canal+ currently has a presence in French-speaking African countries. 
The company stated that its partnership with MultiChoice aims to expand skills development to other parts of Africa and build media institutions on par with those in Western countries.

The CEO of Canal+ Africa is David Mignot.

"The aim is to build up one of the top 5 media companies in the world, the only one which will not be an American company, and it will be a group with 42 million subscribers, the majority of whom are African customers. So the group is focusing on Europe, Africa and a little bit of Asia, and the aim is to continue to procure in local languages and to tell the African stories to the world."

The courtesy call at State House came ahead of the premiere of the documentary Netumbo: A Leader Beyond Politics, which chronicles the leadership journey of President Nandi-Ndaitwah.